What is your property worth?

The essentials in brief

• The market value is what counts: the price a buyer actually pays under normal conditions – not the asking price in the listing.
• Three methods under the Liegenschaftsbewertungsgesetz (Property Valuation Act): the comparable sales method for flats, the income method for let buildings, the cost method for single-family houses.
• Vienna 2025: a median price of €5,212 per m² for owned flats, 5.5% more than in 2024 (Statistik Austria, based on purchase contracts of private households in the land register).
• Lower Austria 2025: a median price of €3,089 per m² for owned flats.
• Prices vary widely within Vienna: district, neighbourhood, period or new building and condition affect the price more than any average.
• A formal appraisal by a court-certified surveyor is only needed in special cases, such as divorce, inheritance or court proceedings. For a sale, a well-founded assessment based on actual comparable prices is usually enough.

Market value, asking price, mortgage lending value – what is the difference?

• Market value: the price achievable in an ordinary sale. This is what matters for a sale.
• Asking price: the price in the listing. It is often above the eventual sale price because room for negotiation is factored in. Portals show asking prices, not sale prices.
• Mortgage lending value: the value a bank uses for the loan. It is deliberately cautious and usually lower than the market value.

What valuation methods are there?

The Liegenschaftsbewertungsgesetz (Property Valuation Act) recognises three methods. Which one fits depends on how the property is used.

In the comparable sales method, what counts is the prices actually paid. These can be found in the purchase contracts held in the land register's document collection. Agents, surveyors and data providers evaluate them and adjust for differences in size, floor or condition.

In the income method, the key factor is the rate at which future rents are discounted. The higher it is, the lower the value. Rent controls, such as the reference rent (Richtwertmiete) in period buildings, cap the income and thus the price.

In the cost method, the land value and the building's construction costs are added together and reduced for age. The result is then adjusted to the market, since no one automatically pays for a house what it would cost to build it again from scratch.

What influences the price of a flat?

1. Location: district, neighbourhood, proximity to the U-Bahn and green space. In Vienna, streets within the same district can differ widely.
2. Period or new building: new builds and first-occupancy flats cost noticeably more per m² than resale flats.
3. Condition and energy: need for renovation, heating, windows and the energy certificate (HWB, fGEE).
4. Floor and lift: upper floors with a lift fetch more; a ground floor facing the street fetches less.
5. Outdoor space: a balcony, terrace or garden is scarce in Vienna, and buyers pay for it.
6. Layout and light: room arrangement, orientation, ceiling height.
7. Building and reserve fund: a well-funded reserve and no major renovations pending. Since 2026 a statutory minimum contribution of €1.12 per m² per month has applied.
8. Legal encumbrances: an existing lease, a right of residence or a building lease (Baurecht) reduce the price for buyers who want to live there themselves.

What do flats cost in Vienna and Lower Austria?

The median is the middle value of the transactions analysed: half of the flats sold for more, half for less. It is not an arithmetic average. It is based on purchase contracts of private households from the land register; Statistik Austria excludes prices between friends or relatives and subsidised prices where possible.

The figures differ because the sources measure differently. Statistik Austria evaluates purchase contracts of private households from the land register. The WKO property price report (Immobilienpreisspiegel) of the Austrian Economic Chamber distinguishes between first-occupancy and resale flats and is based on transaction data reported by estate agents and property managers (Immobilientreuhänder), cross-checked against land register data. For any specific flat, both serve only as a point of reference. What sets the Lower Austrian market apart from Vienna is explained under Property in Lower Austria.

According to the Oesterreichische Nationalbank (OeNB), residential property prices in Vienna rose by 2.9% in 2025, against inflation of 3.8%. In real terms, flats have therefore become slightly cheaper.

Who values a property – and when do you need an appraisal?

• Agent: a market price assessment based on actual comparable prices and a viewing, used to set the asking price for a sale.
• Court-certified surveyor: an appraisal under the Property Valuation Act is needed when the value must hold up legally – in divorce, inheritance or court proceedings. Depending on the property, it usually costs anything from a few hundred to several thousand euros. Surveyors are listed in the judiciary's official register.
• Bank: it values the property for the loan, not for the sale. Its mortgage lending value is no guide to the sale price.

Online calculators give a rough range based on asking prices. They know nothing about the condition, floor, reserve fund or layout – and in Vienna these factors alone often make a 15–20% difference.

How ImmoLöwin values a property

We view the flat, check the land register, the energy certificate and the building's documents, and compare it with actual sale prices in the same area. You receive a reasoned price range and a recommended asking price. What happens next is shown in the guide How selling a property works. Request a valuation.